Rensselaer Republican, Volume 20, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1888 — "Chistian Union Detined” -Reviewed. [ARTICLE]

"Chistian Union Detined” -Reviewed.

M«. Eortonw For tli« benefit of your starry contributor '‘Orion” and all his glittering beit.of sympathizers do I, tako my pen tiKud t'M't'i in clearer terms tiian tho ones crapinyed by Au Itevoi". a f«w things ooiioOrnitg'our g.cgt mu uml ho no. Glit’i-iltun Union. , 1 «lo* tvjofoo I'xoooiiingiy .tliat the lirilliant Orion uosires and somuiiules ..voii J.iijies to tCi nil Ciir'istifiiis iinuvil.' give tuo thy Laml most. noble Onon; mul wnile our trusty pwosstribo avarluvs liimvs ngainst tlxi great anuy of til! the fains, may our differences vanish to an invisibly point, and our lines of !%reenient broaden until they meet and nunglc into one. With this pfelndo I proceed at omo to examine brielly the article in question. * I First then of importance is the follow rag assertion;: j "For unity, and not for union. Jesus ' prayed.” It the. writer actually knows | that lo be a lafcl-t which we ate conipeliiul to admit., let its seo what unity means. Turn to. the word in Webster's Unabridged and the very definition is: •• i'iio slate of being one: oneness.” While the synonyms are : "Union: oflene.-»: juiietiou; c'ouoord; liarmony: .-ee Union.” Now turn to tho seventeenth chapter of St. John and read e-ery word’ ot it. Then turn back and commit to memory the 11, iU, 21,22 and .2;. verses. Let them sink deep deep into your .heart, whoever you may be that reads these lines: and if that heart has been warmed by tats love of God, surely there will spring forth a new and bbautlons inilu. eiiee. strong as life and radiant with hope—-a l.viiig and over ruling desire to ou in harmony tvita tiiy su liime sentiments of that inimitable prayer, t admit that Chris'; ( rayed Mr unity. That he also prayed for union is oildent. ‘•Unity precedes union.” So says Orion. I have little to offer offHhat. Hut if “the statu of being one” precedes the “slate of being united or joined” then certainly the state of oneness,foi lows the stale of being united or joined, lienee 1 even mere than agree with my friend anil assert that unity both pro cedes and succeeds union. ;y “We must ail confess that ‘somebody" is .at f autt7v44m4ffPMeiis3iatrtoiirhim How true! How Very u uef and that somebody is tho body or bodies that presume to diverge a little from the Bible. , -

Let Christians annihilate their creeds uud ism.-, ami hobbies and just embrace the unm'xed Gospel of -Christ as their all sufficient rule of faith and action, and how Soon the world would be blessed with Christian union and Christianity, .and how soon the world Would be convinced of the truth of Christianj'ity!' 1 presume this is what An Kcvoir meant by “a eomplete and uneonditional surrender lo the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.” "Yes. my brother 'perhup.-) the mileinium is coming, but it is not to be I ussbored nor inis-.ehed by vociferations for,church union. Its herald is love, under whose banner it is posfihle ior men to see eye to eye.” , K Well. 1 have no objection to the love. Indeed if Au lit voir or any ouo else intonated that the union do .ii o ttroikd be effected by ioud-tnouthed clamoring, preiiipted by the spirit, ot hale, I most heartily disagree Cnristion union without iove would be ttu real union at all. Everybody knows that. But will the d.ft. pent seels, as shell, ever inarm to love one another? Is not sectism a system of barriers that hinders or re tarbs the free interchange of Christian love? Must not the walls be leveled b l'ore we can perfect unity? Will in dividual Christians ol the different denominations leara to love one another any the S 'Oaer By mamtlujiing silem e on the subject ot union, or by talking against-ii?. If you want Tempenulce reform, you strive first to ereate-ttßm&g= the peojile a strong temperance senti* fivetit. If you want to engage in missionary enterprises you go to work to interest the people in missions. So, if you want Christian union proceed upon common sense principles and set peo-‘ pie to thinking about it- point out the beauties and advantages of it, and the ugliness and disadvantages of disunion. Tell people that the mean things Christians do are mostly to be accounted for by the fact that they are under the dominion ol the spirit of sectism rather thitn the spirit of Christ, which is love. Tell them that the -spirit—which -glories in disunoii and party names is 'sectarian, is narrow, is partisan, is bigoted, is contemptible, is unchristian. * ii you really desire Christian union labor to create a healthy, vigorous union sentiment among the Christians us Rensselaer. Talk abCut it, write about it, preach about it and pray for it. In short and in tine, bring' yourself into perfect unity with'Christ: and then use the rich gifts he has lavished upon vpu to bring others into this same blessed relation: and may Christian Union, broad and deep and fervent follow ia ; your wake. f Concerning the Philadelphia miye- ; men? I wi'l add urtuirg. but "parieiitlv : await further cents. If ilihn may. by and t»y. ~ ; -

HESIIEARIT.